Treaty of Reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom (1875)

United States of America; Hawaiian Kingdom

Treaty Register

BilateralNorth AmericaKOA-TREATY-US-1875-01

Signed: 30 January 1875
Effective: 9 September 1876
Coordinates: 38.8951, -77.0364
Ratifications Exchanged: 3 June 1875
Ratifying Authority: Ratifications exchanged at Washington, 3 June 1875; proclaimed by the President of the United States the same day.

Parties and Kind of Agreement

Parties, as named on the record

United States of America · Hawaiian Kingdom

Kind of agreement

Bilateral

Signatories, as named on the instrument

Hamilton Fish (Secretary of State, United States of America)
Elisha H. Allen (Chief Justice; Chancellor of the Kingdom; Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Hawaiian Kingdom)
Henry A. P. Carter (Special Commissioner, Hawaiian Kingdom)

Witnesses

Recorded in the source document

Place of signing

Washington, D.C., United States of America

Summary

Signed at Washington, D.C. on 30 January 1875 by Hamilton Fish, United States Secretary of State, and by the Hawaiian Kingdom's two plenipotentiaries, Elisha H. Allen and Henry A. P. Carter, all three named in the signature block. Six articles: the United States admits scheduled Hawaiian goods duty-free (I); the Hawaiian Kingdom reciprocally admits scheduled United States goods duty-free (II); proof of origin is governed by rules the two governments prescribe (III); no export duties on the scheduled goods, and the Hawaiian King undertakes not to lease or otherwise dispose of any port, harbour or territory, or grant equivalent privileges to any other power, while the treaty is in force (IV); the convention takes effect on approval, proclamation and enabling United States legislation, runs seven years, and continues thereafter until twelve months after notice of termination (V); ratifications to be exchanged at Washington within eighteen months (VI). Ratifications were exchanged at Washington on 3 June 1875 and the convention entered into force on 9 September 1876. A Library of Congress certified true copy is held in this archive.

Summary of provisions

Articles I–VI, condensed by the archive: (I) the United States admits the Hawaiian goods listed in the schedule — including unrefined sugar, rice, syrups and molasses — into all its ports free of duty; (II) the Hawaiian Kingdom reciprocally admits the scheduled United States goods free of duty; (III) proof that goods are the growth, manufacture or produce of either country is established under rules the two governments prescribe; (IV) no export duty on the scheduled goods, and, while the treaty is in force, the Hawaiian King will not lease, dispose of, or create any lien upon any port, harbour or territory in his dominions, grant any special privilege therein to another power, or make any treaty granting another nation the same duty-free privileges; (V) the convention takes effect once approved and proclaimed on both sides and once Congress has passed a law to carry it into operation, then runs seven years and continues until twelve months after either party gives notice to terminate; (VI) ratifications to be exchanged at Washington within eighteen months of signature. This is a summary, not a transcription. Article text checked against the published text of the convention (Wikisource, "Reciprocity Treaty of 1875"); signature, ratification and entry-into-force dates per the Tribal Treaties Database, Oklahoma State University. The archive holds a certified true copy issued by the Library of Congress, Office of Business Enterprises, Duplication Services Section, 7 March 2012 (Gregory T. Cooper, Section Head).

Condensed by the archive from the instrument. This is a summary, not a transcription; the document's own words are in the reference pages.

Also catalogued asKOA-TREATY-US-1875 — Same Treaty of Reciprocity of 30 January 1875 between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom: identical date and identical parties. The canonical entry additionally carries the three named plenipotentiaries from the signature block of the published text.

Cite this record

Record identifier: KOA-TREATY-US-1875-01
Title: Treaty of Reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom (1875)
Date of record: 30 January 1875
Review date: 2026-09-18
Canonical address: https://kingdomofatooi.com/treaties/1a5f09f2-94d7-4c03-9172-301f032b09ae

Suggested citation

Office of the Archive, Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi. “Treaty of Reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom (1875).” KOA-TREATY-US-1875-01. 30 January 1875. Record reviewed 2026-09-18. https://kingdomofatooi.com/treaties/1a5f09f2-94d7-4c03-9172-301f032b09ae

Attached Documents

· 3

Treaty of Reciprocity (1875) — Library of Congress certified true copy
Certified reproduction · 6 pages · preservation copy held in the Kingdom archive
Provenance: Library of Congress certified true copy, 7 March 2012
View reference pages
6 approved pages · watermarked reference copy served page by page. The original file stays in the closed archive and is not published.
Treaty Between Hawaiian Kingdom and United States (1875)
Alternate scan of the same instrument (legacy catalogue entry KOA-TREATY-US-1875) · 2.4 MB
No reference pages are published for this scan. The archive holds it as a closed copy.
Request access to this copy
Quote archival reference KOA-TREATY-US-1875-01.
Washington, 30 January 1875 — certified copy scan
Alternate scan of the same instrument (legacy catalogue entry TREATY-1875-01-30-RECIPROCITY)
Provenance: Library of Congress certified copy (7 March 2012)
No reference pages are published for this scan. The archive holds it as a closed copy.
Request access to this copy
Quote archival reference KOA-TREATY-US-1875-01.

Region on the Diplomatic Map

This instrument is part of the Kingdom's North America engagements. Return to the atlas to explore nearby engagements.

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Classification and Effect

This record is classified as Bilateral. Every instrument is listed under the title written on the document itself. Classification describes the character of the instrument; it never replaces, shortens, or restates the original title.

This instrument was concluded between the historical Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States of America, according to the treaty practice of its era; the United States of America was a party to it. Holding it in this register records that history. The register records no treaty relationship between the United States of America and the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi, nor any present-day recognition of the Polynesian Kingdom of Atooi by that state, by any other state, or by any intergovernmental organisation. Evidence standards.